Best UK areas to open takeaway
200 local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real commercial rent, local wages, business rates and market density.
Which UK areas are best for opening a takeaway food outlet in 2026?
The best UK area to open a takeaway food outlet is Derbyshire Dales (East Midlands), with a Gera Business Location Score of 82.6/100: premises at £107/m²/yr and local median pay of £28,874. Tower Hamlets ranks lowest at 9.3/100. Ranked across 200 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for takeaway
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derbyshire Dales | East Midlands | 82.6/100 | £107 | £28,874 | £4,622 |
| 2 | North Norfolk | East | 77.8/100 | £122 | £26,296 | £5,270 |
| 3 | Ceredigion | Wales | 77.2/100 | £99 | £27,868 | £4,277 |
| 4 | Westmorland and Furness | North West | 76.4/100 | £90 | £32,683 | £3,888 |
| 5 | East Lindsey | East Midlands | 76.3/100 | £109 | £26,724 | £4,709 |
| 6 | Blackpool | North West | 76.1/100 | £83 | £27,064 | £3,586 |
| 7 | Thanet | South East | 74.6/100 | £79 | £27,076 | £3,413 |
| 8 | Cornwall | South West | 74.2/100 | £142 | £27,006 | £6,134 |
| 9 | North Yorkshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 73.4/100 | £103 | £29,288 | £4,450 |
| 10 | Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | Wales | 73.4/100 | £78 | £27,011 | £3,370 |
Filter by your budget
Set a premises size and monthly budget to shortlist the areas that fit.
Budget covers estimated annual rent (VOA rateable value × floor area) plus the 2026-27 small-business rates bill (43.2p multiplier), spread over 12 months. Real reliefs (e.g. Small Business Rate Relief) can reduce the rates portion further.
Best areas to open a takeaway food outlet within £2,000/month
- 1Derbyshire DalesEast MidlandsGBLS 82.6≈ £1,021/mo
- 2North NorfolkEastGBLS 77.8≈ £1,165/mo
- 3CeredigionWalesGBLS 77.2≈ £945/mo
- 4Westmorland and FurnessNorth WestGBLS 76.4≈ £859/mo
- 5East LindseyEast MidlandsGBLS 76.3≈ £1,041/mo
- 6BlackpoolNorth WestGBLS 76.1≈ £792/mo
- 7ThanetSouth EastGBLS 74.6≈ £754/mo
- 8CornwallSouth WestGBLS 74.2≈ £1,356/mo
- 9North YorkshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 73.4≈ £983/mo
- 10Denbighshire / Sir DdinbychWalesGBLS 73.4≈ £745/mo
- 11Great YarmouthEastGBLS 73.3≈ £888/mo
- 12TorbaySouth WestGBLS 73.1≈ £821/mo
- 13NorthumberlandNorth EastGBLS 71.3≈ £792/mo
- 14High PeakEast MidlandsGBLS 71.3≈ £850/mo
- 15DorsetSouth WestGBLS 71.2≈ £1,069/mo
Takeaway by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a takeaway food outlet in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 200 ranked areas is £47/m²/yr in Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr Tudful. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Derbyshire Dales ranks #1 at 82.6/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for takeaway premises in Derbyshire Dales?
- In Derbyshire Dales, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £107 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £10,700/yr rent, plus roughly £4,622/yr business rates at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p) — before any Small Business Rate Relief.
- What data is this based on?
- VOA Non-Domestic Rating Business Floorspace (rateable value per m², 31 March 2025), ONS UK Business Counts 2025 (market density), ONS ASHE 2025 (local wages) and ONS mid-2024 population — all Open Government Licence v3.0, joined on the ONS local-authority code.
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Contains public sector information published by Valuation Office Agency and Office for National Statistics and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: VOA Business Floorspace + ONS Business Counts + ONS ASHE (work geography) + ONS population estimates (2025 (VOA 31 March 2025; ASHE 2025 provisional; Business Counts 2025; population mid-2024), published December 2025).